swscholasticbowlfandomcom-20200216-history
Baron de Montesquieu
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 1689 – 10 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French lawyer, man of letters, and political philosopher who lived during the Age of Enlightenment. He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He did more than any other author to secure the place of the word despotism in the political lexicon. Tossup Questions # This writer satirized dueling as the only way for aristocrats to settle disputes arising from what he called a "point of honor." This author created a fictional group of barbaric people who eventually manage to develop an enlightened monarchy in his "Fable of the Troglodytes". He also attributed the prevalence of slavery to hotter climates, while claiming that republics come from barren soil. This author wrote of the fictional correspondence between Usbek and Rica in his Persian Letters. Another of this man's works proposed that governments should conform to the culture of the people and advocated the separation of powers. For 10 points, name this French author of The Spirit of the Laws. # This man argued that republics become corrupt when they lose the love of virtue that animates them, just as love of fear animates tyrannies. Possibly inspiring Rousseau, this man linked despotic slavery to hotter climates. This man wrote about Roxana, who commits suicide after the Chief Eunuch in her harem writes to Rica's traveling companion Usbek in one fictional work. This native of La Brède mocked his own continent from a (*) foreigner's perspective in his satirical Persian Letters. He also valorized the political system of England for the ability of Parliament and judges to check the king there. For 10 points, name this French Enlightenment-era baron whose book The Spirit of the Laws argued for preserving liberty via separation of powers. # In one work, this thinker wrote a lengthy section in praise of commerce, which he believed produces peace and good manners. This philosopher asserted that people living in warm and cold countries were too hot-tempered or icy, respectively, concluding that the climate of middle Europe was ideal, and showed why man should not live by his desires in the Fable of the Troglodytes. This thinker grouped governments into monarchies, despotisms, and republics, in a work that popularized the idea of the separation of powers through branched government. For 10 points, name this French Enlightenment author of Persian Letters and The Spirit of the Laws. # In one work, this philosopher satirically argued that blacks lack common sense because they prefer glass necklaces to gold. He objected to Spinoza's determinism, arguing that moral causes can overcome physical causes in his "Essay on the Causes That May Affect Men's Minds and Characters." This man claimed that slavery is relatively tolerable in despotic societies and (*) hot climates, and asserted that monarchies are more common in countries with fertile soil. A love of virtue and the fear of the ruler are among the three central principles elucidated in the best known work by this creator of the travelers Rica and Uzbek, who famously argued that political liberty requires laws that ensure personal security as well as the separation of powers. For 10 points, name this philosopher who wrote the Persian Letters and The Spirit of the Laws. # This philosopher argued that the fertility of a country's soil affects its type of government, with barren soil leading to republics. His major work claims that differences in (*) climate lead to different national characteristics, and uses the Ottoman Empire as an example of a state ruled by fear. His theory that the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government should be separated inspired America's founding fathers. For 10 points, name this French author of The Spirit of the Laws.